Animation Nights New York | ANNY Best of Fest (5)

Festival start: 19 December 2020      Festival end: 20 December 2020

Animation Nights New York is a competitive films festival. We host monthly screening events of our in-competition films in venues around NYC. Admission is Free.

The ANNY Cannes Program is an additional opportunity for our filmmakers. Working with the Cannes Marché du Film and Short Film Corner we shortlist qualifying films & filmmakers and then select 20 films to be showcased in our ANNY Cannes Program. Filmmakers receive limited festival accreditation and participate in both a market screening and industry events as part of ANNY Exchange.

ANNY Best of Fest is a conference held annually in NYC (late Sept / early Oct). The two day festival features animation screenings, virtual reality animation experiences, art installations, professional panels, and industry events.

ANNY Exchange connects animation talent to AR/VR/Traditional projects.

HISTORY
Animation Nights New York was founded by Yvonne Grzenkowicz. On September 9, 2015, Little Water Radio invited us to use their old space at 207a Front St in the back of Fulton Stall Market for our premiere “NY Independents” screening. The program was curated by Yvonne Grzenkowicz (Animation Nights New York) and Robert Lyons (ASIFA East). We had about 45 attendees. We soon outgrew the space! (Thank you, Little Water Radio and Fulton Stall Market!)

Jan-April 2016 we were in residency with the Third Annual Out to See Festival at 192 Front St (Jan-Apr) in the South Street Seaport. We were the premiere event for this winter festival hosted by Little Water Radio and sponsored by the Howard Hughes Corporation. Animation Nights New York continued to grow.

In May 2016, Animation Nights New York relocated to the beautiful 180 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038 with support from Anderson Contemporary, MHP, Clarion Partners, and Maiden Lane Hospitality. We could finally accommodate our growing regular attendance!

Animation Nights New York now holds screening events around NYC. Besides 180 Maiden Lane, we’ve held screening events at the One World Trade Observatory, the Arts Brookfield Terrace at Brookfield Place, and The Gutter Spare Room in Williamsburg Brooklyn. We’ve held workshops and VR pop-up events at The Capitale and The Hideaway Seaport.

We’ve had over 11000 films submitted from all around the world. The work is beautiful and inspiring and the events have fostered a sense of community and exchange.

We’ve had tremendous support from ASIFA, NYC ACM SIGGRAPH, NYWIFT, Women in Animation, and the animation community at large. Animation Nights New York programs have included work by award winning animators such as Bill Plympton, George Griffin, Joanna Quinn, John Dilworth, Signe Baumane, Michael Sullivan, Dustin Grella, AthanassiosVakalis and Tiny Inventions among others.

Animation Nights New York had our First Annual ANNY Best of Fest on September 29-30, 2016. Our panel judges selected 20 films from the 200 screened Sept 2015-July 2016. The ANNY Best of Fest featured Animation Screenings, VR Animation Experiences, Art Installations, Industry Events, Artist Booths, and Professional Panels at 180 Maiden Lane and venues around the Seaport District of NYC.

Our goal is to strengthen the animation community and ensure filmmakers are rewarded for their efforts. We are looking to partner with companies who are naturally aligned with our mission to promote the arts. A huge thanks to everyone who helped us get this started.

Keep supporting independent animation. We hope to see you at our next event!

The monthly screenings (Aug - July) are curated. These events culminate in a juried annual ANNY Best of Fest (Oct). The films selected as "screened" at the regular monthly programs are automatically submitted to the annual juried show.

The ANNY Cannes Program is an additional opportunity for our filmmakers. Working with the Cannes Marché du Film and Short Film Corner we shortlist qualifying films & filmmakers and then select 20 films to be showcased in our ANNY Cannes Program. Filmmakers receive limited festival accreditation and participate in both a market screening and industry events as part of ANNY Exchange.

ANNY Best of Fest Awards

ANNY Best of Fest Winners -20 films are selected by our industry jurors from the 200 in-competition films screened during the season.

Grand Prize Winner - One film is hand picked by an industry judge.

Grand Prize Winner VR (roomscale) - OneVR project is hand picked by an industry judge.

Grand Prize Winner VR (360) - One VR project is hand picked by an industry judge.

AFA Award - One film is hand picked by Animation for Adults

Comedy Award - One film is hand picked by the Iron Mule Festival.

Additional Awards - TBA

Prizes - TBA

We accept short animated films in all styles, mediums, and genres. There is no limitation on the age of the film. We do request that you be able to submit a high resolution 1080p digital file as a final format via Dropbox or YouSendIt.

PLEASE NOTE: Animation Nights New York (ANNY) has ROLLING DEADLINES. If you have not received a notification it means your film is still in the running to be screened as an In Competition film at one of our monthly events.

Once your film is selected, it may not be programmed immediately. We take great time and care with program curation. Once your film is programmed, it will be immediately be In Competition for our next ANNY Best of Fest. 20 ANNY Best of Fest winners are selected by a panel of Industry Judges. Grand Prize and Special Prize Winners in both film and VR categories are also selected.

WHAT SEMI-FINALIST MEANS: Your film has moved to the SECOND ROUND OF JUDGING for inclusion in Animation Nights New York (ANNY). At this stage, we are still reviewing your film. Your film has NOT YET been officially selected. It is still in the running! You will receive a second notification letting you know if your project has been selected for screening with Animation Nights New York. NOTE: If your project is selected, we will request download access for your digital file.

Please Attend! If you live in the NYC area we would like you to attend the screening and networking event.

If you live outside the NYC area we would like you to be available to attend the networking event virtually via Skype or Google Hangout. (Coming soon.)

PLEASE NOTE: If the film submission is accepted into Animation Nights New York, the entrant grants Animation Nights New York (ANNY) a non-exclusive, royalty free license for use for theatrical and non-theatrical screenings and to publish excerpts in print or electronic media to promote the event in any and all media.

In addition, entrant grants Animation Nights New York (ANNY) a non-exclusive, royalty free license for use for limited broadcast and distribution by whatever means and on all platforms and media as selected by Animation Nights New York in its sole discretion.

The filmmaker must secure all rights and clearances. Foreign films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles.

Again, deadline is rolling! Please do submit your project.